Track shoe cleats

ABSTRACT

A TRACK SHOE CONSTRUCTION HAVING CLEATS REMOVABLY SECURED TO THE SHOE SOLE. THE CLEATS EACH COMPRISE A SUPPORTING BODY WHICH MAY HAVE VARIOUS CONFIGURATIONS AND WHICH HAS BRISTLES ATTACHED TO THE BODY AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY NORMAL TO THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE SHOE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH A TRACK SURFACE.

June 8, 1971 JORDAN, JR 3,583,082

TRACK SHOE CLEATS Filed Sept. 29, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wynn! June 8, 1971 G. P. JORDAN, JR

TRACK sHoE owns .1 Shock-$11001 2 Filed Sept. 29, 1969 United States Patent 01 3,583,082 TRACK SHOE CLEATS George Payton Jordan, Jr., 12538 Knoll Drive, Los Altos, Calif. 94022 Filed Sept. 29, 1969, Ser. No. 861,705 Int. Cl. A43b 23/ 28; A43c 15/00 US. Cl. 36-59 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an improved track shoe construction.

Track shoes have traditionally been provided with relatively long and sharp metal spikes. Such shoes have been most effective for track sufaces which are usually encountered. Cinder tracks, for example, are particularly adapted to such spikes since the spike will provide traction by penetrating the track surface. At the same time, the track surface does not exhibit any significant tendency toward gripping the spikes so that the runners feet will not be impeded.

Because of the introduction of new track surfaces, particularly composition surfaces or similar surfaces made of synthetic or natural materials, certain inadequacies have been recognized in the traditional track shoe. The elongated metal spikes tend to cause an undue amount of damage to such track surfaces. In addition, such surfaces exhibit resilient tendencies and, therefore, when a spike penetrates the surface, there is a tendency toward grabbing of the spike. This naturally creates difficulties for persons running on the track.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a track shoe construction having improved cleat means.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a track shoe construction employing cleat means which are particularly suited for use on composition tracks or other modern surfaces formed of natural or synthetic materials.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, a specific embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan View of a track shoe incorporating cleats designed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the cleat;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cleat;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating the manner in which the cleats are removably secured to a track shoe;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of a track shoe incorporating an alternate cleat design;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one of the cleats shown in FIG. 5; and,

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a change wrench which can be used with the construction of FIG. 5.

The instant invention generally relates to track shoes and more particularly to improved cleats secured to the sole of the track shoes. The cleats each comprise a discshaped body portion having a plurality of bristles attached to the body portion. The bristles extend downwardly relative to the sole of the track shoe for engagement with a track surface.

3,583,582 Patented June 8, 1971 The cleats are specifically designed for use in conjunction with modern track surfaces which may be formed of composition materials, synthetic turf, or other variations of natural and synthetic materials. Since users of track shoes will continuously encounter various different track surfaces, the cleats are designed so that they can be readily removed and replaced by cleats which are best suited for a particular track. As will be explained, the specifications for cleats manufactured in accordance with this invention may vary so that one variation of the cleats of this invention may be replaced by another variation. On the other hand, conventional cleat designs may be most suitable, for example, on a cinder track.

FIG. 1 illustrates a track shoe 10 defining a bottom surface 12. Cleats 14 which are characterized by the features of this invention are secured to the bottom of the track shoe.

FIGS. 2. and 3 illustrate the preferred cleat design. A circular disc 16 makes up the main body of the cleat, and a plurality of bristles 18 ext-end downwardly from the bottom surface of the disc, A threaded stud 20 is secured on the opposite side of the disc.

The bristles 18 must have certain physical properties which will make them suitable for use on certain track surfaces. The bristles must be of sufficient stiffness so that they will not collapse or break off when supporting the weight of an athlete. The bristles must be strong enough to maintain substantially the same attitude during use. In order to provide this characteristic, a relatively tough plastic, for example, nylon or polycarbonate varieties, may be employed. On the other hand, the bristles could be formed of metal or any other suitable material.

The load sustained by an individual bristle depends upon the number of bristles provided. Obviously, the stiffness can be reduced if the number of bristles increases; however, an upper limit of approximately 40 bristles per square inch should be maintained. This upper limit avoids the possibility of the spikes approaching a substantially solid surface which would defeat the purpose of the bristles. A lower limit of about 10 bristles per square inch has ben set, particularly where the bristle material is of high stiffness. The diameter of the individual bristles may vary considerably; however, diameters between inch and /8 inch are feasible.

The body portions 16 of the spikes may have a bottom surface area between about 0.2 and 2 inches. The amount of gripping area which is made available will depend to some degree upon the nature of the track surface which will be encountered.

In use, the bristle spikes are most effective when they result in indentation of the running surface as opposed to penetration of the surface. For this reason, the ends of the bristles need not be pointed; however, this can vary depending upon the particular track surface. If penetration were allowed to occur, the track material would tend to grip the individual bristles thereby impeding the runner since some effort would be required to effect release of the spikes from the track surface. This possibility can, of course, be controlled with the structure of this invention by properly maintaining the size and density of the bristles.

The fact that highly durable material can be employed for the bristles greatly reduces the amount of wear when compared with more conventional spikes. Since different track surfaces will, however, undoubtedly be encountered by individual runners, the spikes are preferably removable so that variation can be employed. This can be accomplished by providing openings in the track shoe sole for receiving the threaded stud 20.

FIG. 4 illustrates a track shoe having an outer sole 22 l threaded cylindrical member 26. This cylindrical member defines a locking flange 28, and the member can, thus, be molded into the outer sole 22 and secured in place for attachment of the spike.

The body 16 of each spike defines opposed openings 30 to permit tightening and loosening of the spikes. A wrench such as utilized for attaching golf shoe cleats may be employed with this arrangement.

FIG. illustrates a track shoe 32 defining a sole 34 for carrying cleat arrangements 36 and 38. These cleats comprise body portions 40 and 42, respectively. Each body portion carries a plurality of bristles 44.

The body portions of the cleats define holes for receiving screws 46. These screws are adapted to be received in threaded openings defined by the sole of the track shoe. The screws preferably have the same threaded configuration as conventional spikes so that the bristle cleats can be used interchangeably with conventional spikes. In this connection, the holes in the body portions 40 and 42 will be located for alignment with the positions of threaded openings normally provided in track shoes.

The screws 46 may have slotted heads for tightening by means of a conventional screw driver. The tool 48 shown in FIG. 7 is useful as a means for applying cleats of the type shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 as well as conventional cleats. Thus, the tool defines an opening 50 at one end which will receive the nut-like portion provided at the base of conventional spikes. The opposite end 52 of the tool will serve as a screw driver for securing screws 46. The protrusions 54 may be used in conjunction with spikes as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4.

The bristle supporting body portions may be formed of plastic material whereby the bristle can be embedded in the plastic in the course of a molding operation. Other materials and means for connecting the bristles could, however, also be employed.

The spike structures described provide a highly desirable means for accommodating track shoes to a particular track surface. By providing variations in the density of the bristles on the spikes, the proper coefiicient of friction with a particular type of running surface can be obtained.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the above construction which provide the characteristics of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof particularly as defined in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. In a track shoe construction, the improvement comprising a plurality of spaced apart cleats secured to the sole of the shoe for providing traction, at least three of said cleats being applied to said shoe, two of said cleats being positioned to support the ball of the foot and an additional cleat being located in the big toe area, said cleats each comprising a body portion and a plurality of bristles attached to the body portion, said bristles extending downwardly relative to said sole for engagement with a. track surface.

2. In a track shoe construction, the improvement comprising a plurality of spaced apart cleats secured to the sole of the shoe for providing traction, at least one cleat being positioned to support the ball of the foot and at least one additional cleat being located in the big toe area, said cleats each comprising a body portion and a plurality of bristles attached to the body portion, said bristles extending downwardly relative to said sole for engagement with a track surface, said bristles being located in spaced relationship on said body portion in a density of from about 10 to about 40 bristles per square inch of bottom surface area of said body portions.

3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 wherein said bristles extend from the bottom surface of said body portions for a distance between about A inch and /4 inch.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 2 wherein the bottom surface area of said body portions is between about 0.2 square inch and 2 square inches.

5. A construction in accordance with claim 2 including cooperating means attached to said sole and to said body portions for removably securing the cleats to said sole.

6. A construction in accordance with claim 1 including cooperating means attached to said sole and to said body portions for removably securing the cleats to said sole.

7. A construction in accordance with claim 6 wherein said cooperating means comprise threaded openings defined by the sole of said shoe and threaded studs carried by said body portions.

8. A construction in accordance with claim 6 wherein said cooperating means comprise threaded openings defined by the sole of said shoe, openings in said body portion to be aligned with said threaded openings, and screws adapted to extend through the openings in said body portion and to screw into said threaded openings.

9. A construction in accordance with claim '1 wherein said bristles extend from the bottom surface of said body portions for a distance between about A inch and inch.

10. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bottom surface area of said body portions is between about 0.2 square inch and 2 square inches.

11. A construction in accordance with claim 10 wherein said cleats have from about 10 to about 40 bristles per square inch of bottom surface area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,878,679 9/1932 Bruijn 3659X 2,400,487 5/1946 Clark 3659X 3,410,005 11/1968 Szerenyi 362.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 291,125 5/ 1928 Great Britain 362.5

156,642 7/1939 Germany 3659 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 3 6-2.5 

